Blake Today
From the Board of Trustees
Lifelong Connections: The People of Blake
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 Greetings! In this my first column as Board chair, I wanted to share excerpts of the talk I gave at this year's Convocation and Legacy Day as well as speak to the role of arts at Blake.
The theme of my Convocation speech (see excerpts), the importance of our Blake community connections, is also a theme that runs through the School's recently approved five-year strategic plan. The Board is well underway developing specific tactics and resource allocation for the six focus areas of the plan — academic excellence, our faculty, technology, pluralism, world citizenship and financial soundness. I look forward to reporting further on our progress in the July Bulletin.
Blake's expanding arts program, the theme of this Bulletin, has the Board's full support. This program lays the foundation for students' lifelong learning in and appreciation for the arts. When I was a Blake student, there was no strings or band program or black box theater, and I believed I had no artistic talent. I couldn't sing, dance or play the recorder. How surprised was I when Jeanne Blake gave me the part of Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Ultimately, I performed in four Blake plays and learned how to don yellow tights, ride a unicycle, speak with a British accent and appreciate Shakespearean comedies. My love of theater continues today, thanks to Blake's inspiration.
I share my personal story as a backdrop to the increased commitment Blake has made to the arts and as testimony to the lifelong importance of the arts. The Board's support for growing the School's arts program — including the expansion of arts-focused facilities on all three campuses — has put Blake's arts program on very solid footing. We hope this great arts tradition continues to expand as we seek to meet our aspirations to be one of the best independent day schools in the United States.
Kent Adams '81
Board of Trustees Chair
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Excerpts from Convocation Speech
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On behalf of Blake's Board of Trustees, welcome to our 2006 Convocation and first Blake Legacy Day, a day where we celebrate Blake's interactions and relationships and the legacy that has kept the spirit of Blake going for over 100 years. Personally, I feel blessed today for my own 36-year association with Blake as a student, alumnus, parent and trustee and proud of how far Blake has come to recognize its importance in the greater community.
Students, I did not know when I was a Blake student what a profound role my Blake relationships would play throughout my life. My best friends today are friends I made at Blake in third grade. In business, I interact with many Blake alumni. Many of my children's friends at Blake are the sons and daughters of friends I made at Blake.
As importantly, the Blake teachers who taught me the importance of character, perseverance and a strong education have been one of the most positive influences on my life. They were mentors then and remain role models and, in many cases, friends today. Blake teachers play a critical role in connecting the generations of students who pass through here, ensuring that the good of one generation is passed on to the next. Many of your teachers were my teachers 25 years ago, creating a legacy of relationships that spans over two generations. We hope that the next generation of young teachers will be here in 25 years, fostering a continuity that makes Blake so special.
The message I would like to leave you is how important this School, Blake's teachers and your classmates will be for the rest of your lives. I want you to look around at your classmates and think about this: some of you will be best friends forever; some of you will go to college together; some of you will end up teachers at Blake, others of you will become parents of students at Blake. Some of you will serve on Blake's Board of Trustees. In fact, some of you will marry a classmate. These relations you are forming today — this community — will be yours forever, and I hope each of you can build a similar positive legacy as I have had the good fortune to build.
•Bulletin, February 2007
•Also in Blake Today
•From the Head of School
•From the Board of Trustees
•From Admissions
•Director's Corner
•From Advancement
•Highcroft Community Give Thanks at Celebration of Gratitude
•Profiles in Giving: The Annual Fund
•Honoring Our Past, Preparing For The Future:
The Jack Edie World Citizen Endowment Fund
•Grandparent and Special Friend Day
•Feature: Teaching The Language of Art at Blake
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